A few weeks ago, my oldest grandson Weston was visiting. The weather report threatened snow and boy was he excited. We waited and waited, but so did the snow. It was cold and every now and then we would see snowflakes, flurries, and light snow, not enough to stick. A few days later we put West on a plane and sent him home. Of course the next morning the snow absolutely dumped on us. And because it was cold – And because it was high precipitation, we got inches in inches of blanketing snow and it stuck. Sorry Weston! That same week, the mailman (through rain and snow) delivered a beautiful boo ..read more

There has been so much discussion and controversy around the book “Flamer,” by Mark Curato that when it became available at the Public Library I checked it out. Let me backtrack and give you a little info about the author. During my tenure as a school librarian I had the pleasure to meet him. Not only meet him, but I got to be his transportation when he was here speaking to the Alaska Library Conference. He was lovely. He had three charming children’s books out - the “Little Elliot” series. After he did a workshop at my school, we did a little sight-seeing. Flash forward to “Flamer.” (watch ..read more

I journal every day. As part of journaling I write an affirmation, a gratitude and a goal. I have to work really hard to make sure my goal doesn’t morph into a “to do” list – that it is more of a life goal. Some examples have included: Be productive. Be people centered. Be creative.  And one of them is to – Find Joy – which seems like is should be something you do naturally – but I dont. I get caught up in the damn “to do” list. I grumble about the weather. How there is not enough time in the day, etc. I have found though, if I am intentional about it, if I seek it out, look for it actively, i ..read more

I was reading the best book. It was sleety/snowy/rainy outside. I did not want to go run errands, I just wanted to curl up and get lost in book, but I had put off the post office until the last possible day. If I did not mail birthday presents, they wouldn’t get where they needed to go in time. One of my goals this year was to be more people-centered, so cards and gifts recognizing birthdays fell smack dab under this goal. I bundled up in a waterproof coat and extra-tuffs and set out. While I was out, I decided that I might as well take care of a few other errands. As much as I hated it, I wen ..read more

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com This fall I had an existential crisis. Or at least that is what I called it. There was perfect storm of sorts…. I was still grieving the loss of my father, I was sick, the holidays were approaching and I watched the absolutely wrong Tiktok. The loss of my father hit me hard. A lot came with that. His sister, my Aunt Nancy, died six weeks later and just like that I became the oldest one in my family left. The Oldest Finch. No grandparents, no aunts, uncles, siblings or cousins older than me. Everyone older than me was gone. I was it. Fall was especially beautiful ..read more

About the time I turned 60 my eyebrows turned gray and disappeared. And weirdly, at the same time they got extra shaggy and random hairs would show up on my eyelids or temple. It was time…. I went out and bought an eyebrow pencil. As I navigated how to use it. I looked at pictures that scientifically calculated where a brow begins, I read beauty articles, I watched Youtube videos, but still, I know I looked pretty comical – one thick, one thin, crooked, arched, not arched…. I bemoaned the loss with my hairdresser, and she asked me if I wanted her to shape my eyebrows so it would be easier to k ..read more

I was lucky enough to be asked to be on the Season Play Selection Committee at First City Players. I was sent a list of potential plays for the 23/24 season to read and help narrow down to individual plays. When I saw “We Will Rock You,” my first thought was, “Cool!! Queen!” Then I read the play…. and it fell into the “Hmmm…. maybe” category. The plot was soooo silly. Flash forward a bit, what a difference two months can make. Because life happened, I was unable to attend the final decision making meeting and… We Will Rock You was selected. I went back and re-read it and…. get this… There were ..read more

Living in a small town has its drawbacks, that is for sure. When we moved here in the mid 90’s I watched a Martha Stewart cooking show and wanted to make some of this newfangled risotto rice she raved about. Perusing our three small grocery stores, there was none to be had. I knew, having come from much larger Anchorage, that if I tried hard enough, I would certainly have been able to find specialty rice. Toys. Clothes. The same. But let me tell you, small towns also have their blessings. And I don’t care how much you argue, the blessings FAR outweigh the drawbacks. For example, before the kid ..read more

In Ketchikan, high school class reunions are held over the weekend of the Fourth. Each reunion class has a float in the parade and different activities all week long. This system is pretty brilliant when you think about it. Everyone knows when the Fourth is. Everyone knows how long ago they graduated… 10 years, 20. 30. etc. No tracking folks down. No announcements in the newspaper or on social media. No phone trees. No angst about picking the date. The work is all done – no communication is required. That said, there ARE details to hammer out… Float theme. Decorations. Money collection for din ..read more

Scott and I have a Gratitude Jar. It is a fancy glass canister with a lid that his parents brought us from their travels to Czechoslovakia. It is lovely, it has heft. Light dances from the etched glass. I am sure it is for candy, or treats, but ours is for gratitude. We write blessings and gratitudes on slips of paper, date them and slip them into the jar. Every year, on January 1st, we take a quiet moment and take turns reading the gratitudes aloud, smiling, laughing, remembering. When we are done, we slip them into an envelope, date it and put it into a memorabilia box. We have done this for ..read more